1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to safes, bank protection, and related devices, especially supports and mountings. The invention discloses a ground lock, especially a beach lock equipped with a device for anchoring the lock in sand, plus a joining device that permits personal property to be secured to the lock.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Visitors to a beach often establish a base site where they deposit blankets, towels, coolers, chairs, umbrellas and other paraphernalia that the party of visitors plans to enjoy during their visit. However, visits to the beach often involve group ventures into the water or down the beach to play sports. Such group ventures can draw everyone in the party away from the base site, leaving the deposited paraphernalia unprotected against theft.
A ground lock, beach lock, or sand lock is a device that can be secured in sand and used as an anchor or locker for protecting personal property against theft. Several devices of this type have been proposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,409,915 to Hagar proposes a beach lock that is composed of an auger with a square lug box at its top end for driving the auger into sand, using a separate lug wrench to twist the auger by the square lug box. For added security, the square lug box has a free spinning post mounted in its top and adapted to receive a padlock. A dome fits on the free spinning post and covers the square lug box, so that the lug box can't be engaged by the lug wrench to unscrew the auger. The padlock is above the dome and holds the dome over the lug box, as well as providing an anchor for attaching valuables to the padlock shackle. With the dome in place, even a thief carrying a lug wrench would have difficulty extracting the auger from the sand. Therefore, this security system appears to be effective, although it has the considerable disadvantage of requiring a great deal of hardware including a lug wrench for installation and then requiring some sort of disposition of the lug wrench, itself, until the time comes to remove the beach lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,041 to Wood proposes a beach locker in which an auger is driven into the beach sand using a lug wrench to turn a lug at the top end of the auger shaft. Then a box or locker is fitted over the top end of the auger shaft, and a keeper is applied to the lug, securing the lug and keeper inside the box. By simply locking the box, the lug and keeper are secured against tampering. In addition, the box serves as a locker that can hold valuables. A special configuration of lug wrench can serve as a hasp that participates in locking the box, solving the dilemma of where to store the lug wrench during the day at the beach. However, this beach locker apparently requires the visitors to haul a great deal of heavy hardware to and from the beach, in addition to the usual paraphernalia of such excursions.
Wood further proposes an alternative embodiment of the beach locker in which the locker box is attached to the auger shaft on a reversible ratchet mechanism. This would allow the locker box to be turned for driving the auger into the sand, but the ratchet would freewheel in reverse. The ratchet control would be locked inside the box so that it could only be reversed when the box is open. This solution may eliminate the need for a separate lug wrench but still requires that a considerable amount of hardware be hauled to and from the beach.
It would be desirable to improve the efficiency of material usage in a sand lock that provides good security against unauthorized removal. In particular, a desirable sand lock should provide security without requiring that excessive hardware accompany the sand lock. Such features of the prior art as a protective dome or locker box should not be necessary for a desirable sand lock to perform its protective and anchoring function.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method and apparatus of this invention may comprise the following.